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Scott Engel supplies you with fantasy football lineup starts/sits for Week 3 (2025). He features key NFL players to start when faced with tight Week 3 fantasy football lineup decisions.
Welcome back to our Key Starters and Tough Calls article for Week 3 of the 2025 season. Scott Engel's Week 3 Lineup Spotlights column features key players to start or sit when faced with challenging lineup decisions. "The King" features players that may be causing fantasy anxiety for those who roster them.
The fantasy football players covered in this Week 3 article are based on Scott's Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available in the RotoBaller NFL Premium Pass. You can get access to his full player rankings and also unlock a full suite of tools and analysis for in-season usage. In Week 2, Scott finished as a top 10 ranker on FantasyPros, and placed third overall at tight end.
To make the best-informed Week 3 lineup decisions -- consult this analysis, the RotoBaller staff fantasy football rankings, and free Who Should I Start? tool for comparing up to four players. The skill position analysis in this article is based on Scott's Week 3 premium PPR rankings.
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Running Backs - Fantasy Football Week 3
Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
With Aaron Jones out, Mason gets his opportunity to be a pure lead runner for the Vikings. He has run hard early in the season and should be considered as a higher-end fantasy RB2 for NFL Week 3. He will play a key role in the Vikings offense against Cincinnati this week.
Minnesota is also missing J.J. McCarthy at QB, and as inconsistent as he has looked so far, going to Carson Wentz is no upgrade. Mason will need to tote a significant workload to ease pressure on Wentz and also to keep the ball away from the Bengals offense as much as possible.
Even though Joe Burrow is out for Cincinnati, its offense remains well-stocked with potent playmakers. Mason should be a quality fantasy starter this week in almost any game script. If the Vikings can establish a lead, Mason will be part of the winning push. In a scenario where the game is actually higher-scoring, Mason could rush for at least one TD, and maybe more.
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
By now, many fantasy players assumed that Stevenson would be relegated to handcuff status. We were supposed to be enjoying the TreVeyon Henderson early-season breakout by now. Instead, Stevenson has re-emerged as the apparent lead RB for New England, while the highly hyped rookie is not contributing enough.
In Week 2, Stevenson totaled 142 scrimmage yards on 16 touches. He caught all five of his targets. Now he gets a good draw to ride the momentum of his performance against the Dolphins. The Pittsburgh defense hasn’t performed close to expectations so far this season.
We could see a high-scoring affair between the Patriots and Steelers this week. Problems defending the run from last season continue to linger. Pittsburgh allowed Kenneth Walker III to rush for over 100 yards last week on just 13 carries. Stevenson can be efficient again this week and should also get into the end zone. Start him as a mid-range fantasy RB2.
Brashard Smith Due for More Work? https://t.co/7DA5YVyqVs
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) September 18, 2025
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
This was supposed to be a bounce-back campaign for Pacheco, but it appears he could be running out of chances to hold onto his starting job. This will be a key game for Pacheco to recapture his better form.
This week, ESPN reported that if the Kansas City ground game doesn’t start improving soon, rookie Brashard Smith could soon get more playing time, possibly at the expense of Pacheco and Kareem Hunt. That type of report puts Pacheco under a hot spotlight, and also pinpoints Smith as a viable free agent stash if he is available in your league.
For Pacheco, it seems like all the right factors are aligning for a better performance after he failed to rush for 30 yards in each of the first two weeks of the season. The Chiefs need a win after starting 0-2 for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. So now they get a matchup with the Giants, who are certainly a worse shade of 0-2.
Playing in a “hometown” atmosphere on a national stage could get Pacheco untracked. He was a former Rutgers star and is originally from New Jersey. He also seems to like the Sunday Night Football spotlight, as he rushed for 100-plus yards in three of fourprevious SNF outings.
Those intangibles may seem irrelevant to some, but football is a game of adrenaline, and I will be fine with starting Pacheco at a flex spot in Week 3.
Wide Receivers - Fantasy Football Week 3
Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
Keenan Allen is back with the Chargers, as the runway was cleared for Odunze to be positioned for a breakthrough campaign. So far this season, he has delivered beyond expectations. Odunze is actually looking like the best fantasy producer on the Chicago offense.
In the first two games of the season, Odunze was targeted 20 times. He has already caught three TD passes and finished with 128 receiving yards last week vs. Detroit in Week 2. The Bears now head into a matchup with the highly vulnerable Dallas defense.
I am ranking Odunze as a fantasy WR1 this week, just outside the top 10, over guys that were drafted higher, such as Garrett Wilson, DK Metcalf, Tee Higgins and Ladd McConkey. Last week, Giants WRs Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson, who rarely seems to come through with spike weeks, combined for 309 receiving yards, three TDs and 17 receptions.
Odunze is in a smash spot whether the Bears are playing from behind or keeping pace in a higher-scoring game.
George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys
Hey, Dallas-Chicago is going to be a good game for a DFS stack. My forecast is that the two teams will be going back and forth with adding numbers to the scoreboard. Pickens may be on the verge of coming through with a winning fantasy performance in NFL Week 3. He might be a key to a fantasy victory for you this week.
Dak Prescott is apparently healthy again and now has a true threat at the No. 2 WR spot with Pickens. Pickens averaged 13.6 yards per reception in his last game played and caught his first TD pass as a Cowboy.
Over the first two weeks, Chicago allowed the most passing TDs in the NFL (seven). It would not be surprising to see Pickens soar over 100 yards and potentially post more than one TD. He should be locked in as a fantasy WR3 with raised statistical expectations vs. Chicago.
Brian Thomas Jr. Says he's "Good" for Week 3 https://t.co/kI89nNMeV0
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) September 19, 2025
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
Thomas is one of the biggest causes of fantasy anxiety early in the 2025 campaign. Targeted heavily in the second round of many fantasy drafts this season, he is raising significant doubts about his outlook after just two games. Hesitant fantasy players understandably are very uncomfortable about starting him as the Jaguars face Houston.
The situation he is in does not bode well for much optimism, at least in the shorter term. Over the first two games, Thomas caught five passes for 60 yards. The Texans allowed just 34 points in the first two weeks. The Jaguars’ offense is full of other playmaking options and QB Trevor Lawrence is inconsistent. Hope for an eventual breakthrough stretch from him slips away more with every week.
Usually I recommend patience on early-round picks that start slowly. But I am not sticking around to see if the situation improves for Thomas and already traded him away in one league this past week. I don’t rank him as a top 30 fantasy WR vs. Houston.
Quarterback and Tight End - Fantasy Football Week 3
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
Some fantasy players are in a real QB pinch, as Joe Burrow is out until further notice and Jayden Daniels won’t play. In some leagues, free agents such as Caleb Williams and Jake Browning look like acceptable streaming options.
Put Darnold in that grouping, too, and while Williams and Browning may have more statistical upside in NFL Week 3, Darnold should provide a solid floor. He did pass for 295 yards and two TDs last week at Pittsburgh, and the Seattle offense is beginning to stabilize.
After the offense looked flat in the season opener, the Seahawks ran the ball better against the Steelers, and Darnold started using play-action passing more effectively. He is demonstrating a fine on-field rapport with Jaxon Smith-Njigna, and the Seattle defense will ensure that the offense gets ample time of possession and enjoys good field position. Darnold is a top 15 fantasy QB in the matchup vs. New Orleans.
Harold Fannin Jr.'s prospect summary, via @RotoBaller:
"He's a versatile athlete who moves like a WR, not a TE. Go-to option in college, wins even when everyone knows the ball is coming. Smooth after the catch, can outrun linebackers, huge catch radius, and tough to bring down."… pic.twitter.com/wk6prXJ4kU
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 11, 2025
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
While there was much preseason buzz about Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland in the preseason, fellow rookie Fannin went undrafted in many leagues. Yet he came out of the chute strongly and could prove to be one of the best early-season waiver wire adds of the season.
Skeptics still point to the presence of David Njoku, but Fannin can line up at more than one spot and will be used as an H-back at times. Because of his promise to be a dynamic playmaker, the Browns’ staff shouldn’t keep him off the field for extensive periods. Fantasy leaguers who remain wary, though, will see a matchup vs. Green Bay this week and might reserve Fannin to see how he fares against a top defense.
Tight ends, however, have been able to post quality numbers against the Packers over the first two weeks. Opposing TEs have caught six passes in each of the first two matchups, totaling 143 yards and one TD. Fannin is staying in my top 10 TEs for Week 3.
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